Houma's Quvenzhane Wallis to star in 'Annie' remake

Sunday

Quvenzhane Wallis, a 9-year-old from Houma who will learn tonight whether she will win a best-actress Oscar, will play the lead role in a Hollywood remake of the hit movie "Annie."

Sony Pictures, its subsidiary, Columbia Studios, and others made the announcement today.

“With the recent Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhané Wallis is a true star, and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star," Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Studios, said in a news release. "She is an extraordinary young talent with an amazing range, not only as an actress but as a singer and dancer, and we can't wait for audiences to further discover her.”

The film, targeted for release during the 2014 holiday season, will be produced by famed actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, among others, and will be scored by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.

Wallis has risen to fame quickly. At 6, she made her first movie, the low-budget "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Filmed independently in Terrebonne Parish, the film is up for best picture and several other Academy Awards tonight. Wallis plays the lead role of Hushpuppy, who finds herself at the center of a poor but defiant bayou community fighting for survival against magical forces.

To most entertainment buffs, "Annie" is best known as a 1982 film directed by Hollywood icon John Huston. It starred Aileen Quinn in the title role of young orphan Annie, Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan, who runs the orphanage, and Albert Finney as "Daddy" Warbucks, a tycoon who opens his home to Annie.

"Annie" was a Tony-award-winning play that opened on Broadway in 1977. The play and the film are based on the classic newspaper comic strip "LIttle Orphan Annie."

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